Kolkata, April 22 (IANS) A Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court, comprising Chief Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Partha Sarathi Sen, on Wednesday ordered a fine to be imposed on the Joint Director of the State Land and Land Reforms Department.
The Central Government has paid the land acquisition fee, but the land has not been handed over for the construction of a barbed wire fence on the India-Bangladesh border.
The High Court was dissatisfied after reviewing this report from the state, and subsequently imposed a personal fine of Rs 25,000 on the Joint Director of the Land and Land Reforms Department.
A barbed-wire fence was supposed to be installed along 128 km of the India-Bangladesh border in West Bengal.
The Central Government has paid the land acquisition fee for this work. However, the land has not yet been handed over.
The bench of the Chief Justice, extremely angry at the state’s report on this matter, asked why the land had not yet been given.
The Joint Director of the Land Reforms Department will have to pay this money to the Legal Services Authority of the Calcutta High Court from his own pocket within 15 days.
After seeing the report, the Chief Justice’s bench said that on January 27, the court had summoned a detailed report explaining why no part of the 128 km of land was transferred.
However, in today’s hearing, the Director of the Land Reforms Department presented a report on only 8 km of land.
On seeing that, the Chief Justice ordered a fine. He also ordered a detailed report to be given at the next hearing.
It is worth noting that the work of fencing 181 km of land is pending.
The Central Government has provided the funds required to acquire land for fencing in this part to the state.
The state has acquired 128 km of land, but the land has not been transferred.
The Border Security Force has not received land from the state.
The court had summoned a detailed report about the 128 km.
–IANS
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